Town centre projects must be ready to go
Oban needs ‘shovel ready’ projects if it is to successfully bid for a share of a new £50m town centre fund from the Scottish Government.
BID4Oban chief executive Andrew Spence has started discussions with council bosses and councillors about how the town could put to use any funding it gets from Argyll and Bute’s £1.2m share.
But last week a meeting of BID4Oban levy payers was warned by Argyll and Bute Council’s economic development team leader Fergus Murray that ‘competition is intense’.
Mr Spence told the meeting the town needed to be fit and ready for it.
He said improvement areas that could benefit from the money would include the top end of George Street and Gibraltar Street.
The money comes with restrictions that could make it difficult to spend.
These include a limited timescale.
Mr Murray told the meeting: ‘As it’s a capital project and it has to be spent within the next financial year, we are looking for shovel ready projects. Communities will be jostling for it.
‘We would have to have the projects and they would have to be ready to go.’
One suggestion from the floor was public toilet provision in the town.
Town businessman and Oban Communities Trust director Graham MacQueen asked if the Rockfield Centre project might quality as part of a bid.
‘Yes, it’s in the town centre,’ said Mr Murray.
Argyll and Bute is getting £1,242,000 from the £50m pot to boost economic growth and help town centres become more diverse and sustainable.
In the Lorn and Islands area, only Oban and Tobermory town centres qualify for a share because they have more than 1,000 people.
The money can also be used to redevelop empty buildings for housing or social and community enterprises.